Restaurant table tops

A tabletop is the part of the furniture guests touch all evening, under plates, glasses and elbows. This department holds 60 tops, sold without a base, so you can pair each one with the base that suits the room. Start with size and shape from the parties you seat, then choose a material that fits the room's service.

Size and shape from the party

The table follows the guests. As planning figures: two guests with drinks fit a 24-inch square, two diners with plates want 30 inches square, four take 36 inches square or a round of 42 inches, and five or six need a round of 48 inches. Square, rectangular and round shapes are all widely available here, and nine tops come with a drop leaf for rooms that join tables on a busy weekend.

Once the top is chosen, the base follows. Under a round top, pick a base spreading across two thirds of that diameter, if not more, so the table stays put when someone leans on its edge. Browse table bases with that figure in hand.

Materials by room

Resin is the largest group, followed by laminate and then wood and solid wood. A few tops are granite, and there is one sintered stone top. Each material has its own department:

• Resin table tops for terraces and busy rooms
• Laminate table tops for dining halls and daily service
• Wood table tops and butcher block table tops for dining rooms and taprooms
• Granite table tops for a bar or a room that wants stone

If the size you need is not standard, start from configurable tops. Twenty-six tops here are listed for patio use. Keep every other top indoors, solid wood above all, since sun and rain are hard on it.

Prices start around $38 for the simplest square.

A top for each room in the house

One house can run three or four tops at once. A granite surface at the bar, laminate in the dining hall where tables move every day, wood in the club dining room, resin on the terrace: each room keeps its own character while the bases tie them together. If you are replacing tops room by room, measure the old ones before you remove them, so the new tops sit on the existing bases without surprises.

Plan tops and bases together, room by room, in Venue plans. Ask for a top material sample if the color has to sit beside wood or stone already in the room.